These Colorado 14ers Saw Their Visitation Double in 2024

Colorado's highest peaks saw an estimated 265,000 hiker-days in 2024, far short of the pandemic-era record, but a gain over 2023.

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A hiker pauses on the Decalibron Loop. (Photo: Zachary Joing / iStock via Getty)

Colorado’s tallest mountains were slightly more popular with hikers in 2024, with total usage of the state’s 58 highest peaks increasing by 1.9 percent. But those new hikers weren’t distributed evenly, according to new data from the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI): The four peaks with the biggest gains saw their visitation double over the previous year, while the number of hikers on several other popular peaks declined.

Mt. Bierstadt and Quandary Peak once again topped the list of the state’s most popular high peaks, with an estimated 25,000-30,000 visits in 2024. Mt. Blue Sky also saw a jump in estimated use. In a press release, CFI said that was due to a change in how the organization estimated total visits. In contrast, Mt. Elbert and Grays and Torreys peaks fell to the third tier of popularity, with CFI estimating that just 15,000 to 20,000 hikers visited those peaks.

The mountains that saw the biggest jump in popularity, however, were the four peaks of the Decalibron Loop, a 7-mile trail which summits Mounts Democrat, Cameron and Lincoln, and bypasses the off-limits summit of Bross. The loop had been the site of frequent closures in recent years as John Reiber, a landowner whose holdings on Mt. Lincoln crossed the trail, repeatedly barred access to the path over liability concerns. In 2023, Reiber closed down the trail after the Colorado legislature rejected a measure that would have limited hikers and other recreationists’ ability to sue landowners over injuries incurred on their land. Hikers finally regained access to the loop after Reiber sold roughly 300 acres on Mt. Democrat to the Conservation Fund. He also installed signs at trailheads with a QR code leading to a waiver, which visitors were required to sign.

“Opening or closing hiking access to a few key fourteeners has been a significant cause of fluctuating hiking use levels over recent years,” Lloyd F. Athearn, executive director of CFI, said in a press release. “With Mt. Democrat becoming public land in 2024 and an electronic waiver system also in place by the landowner of Mt. Lincoln, hiking use levels on the Decalibron Loop effectively doubled last year compared to 2023 when the loop was closed for half the season.” However, reduced hiking use on perennial top-tier peaks, including Grays and Torreys peaks and Mt. Elbert, largely offset this increase.

Hiking traffic on Colorado’s 14ers peaked in 2020 at 415,000 hiker-days as the Covid-19 pandemic drove record-high levels of outdoor recreation. Since then, it has dropped toward historical averages. In 2024, the state’s 14ers saw an estimated 265,000 hiker-days, driving some $71.9 million in direct spending.